The Wedding is Over… Now what?

Jul 13, 2017

After the last song has played and the champagne has run dry, you finally take a long minute and realize: you’re married! After a year or more of planning, organizing and dreaming, your day has come and gone in what feels like a blink of an eye. And then it hits, you’ll get what they call a wedding hangover and all of that planning you hated a month ago will be something you long for. To help cure your post-wedding blues, we’ve compiled a list of post-wedding to-do’s for the next year.

Make sure you’ve paid all your vendors

Sometimes wedding vendors will have payment plans where the last portion is due anywhere from a day to a month after the wedding. A lot of couples will be swept up in the feeling of marriage and their organization will slip. Try setting google calendar reminders so that nothing is left unpaid.

Review your vendors

If you are extremely happy with the outcome and service of your wedding vendors, the best way to honour them and say thank you is by giving them reviews. If they have a large following on Facebook, leave a message there along with your star rating. If you really want to help them, do a quick search for review options on google to leave mere than one review. Some of these include: Yellow Pages, Wedding Wire or The Wedding Ring among others. You can also send an email with a formal review giving your vendor permission to share in a blog, on their social media, in promotional materials or on their website.

If you want your review to make a big impact, try sharing a personal experience of what they did to go above your expectations or a service they offered that was different from other vendors. For instance, you may say that your photographer was able to help you plan pictures which utilize props (couches, wingback chairs or sporting paraphernalia) as part of their package even when it wasn’t listed. Or you may say that your florist was able to find a gorgeous option within a tighter budget without compromising your vision.

Preserve your wedding dress and flowers

There are three common ways to preserve your wedding bouquet, one being hanging it to dry. All you have to do is hang your bouquet in a safe area, upside down for at least a few weeks. Another way is to use silica gel which you can get from a craft store. All you have to do is place the gel (actually more like sand) with your bouquet in a container large enough to bury the flowers. After a couple weeks, take the flowers out, wipe the dust and it’s good to go! Using silica gel is best for sturdier flowers such as peonies, roses, and zinnias. Lastly, you can also get your flowers freeze-dried which happens to be a more expensive option but will keep your flowers closest to how they looked on your wedding day. To freeze dry, look for a professional to take care of the process for you.

Wedding dress preservation kits are a common way to keep your dress looking picture perfect. These kits can be ordered online and can also be found in stores such as David’s Bridal. Some brides will also place their dress and dried flowers in a shadow box and hang it in their hallway or bedroom.

Order an album of your favourite wedding photos

Try holding a viewing party with your family, friends and bridal party to look at all the photos from your big day. This is a great opportunity to catch-up after the wedding and reminisce about your favourite moments. Either have someone track all the favourites, or have your guests submit a few of their favourite images. If you’re able to save or track down a few bottles of your wedding wine, it would be a great addition to your viewing party!

Legally change your name

Before you’re able to change your name, you’ll need the original (or certified) marriage license with the raised seal and your new last name on it. Sometimes your minister or officiant will fill you in on this process. If a copy isn’t automatically sent to you, try calling the clerk’s office where your license was filed to get copies.

Be sure that if you’re travelling right after your honeymoon that your passport matches your travel tickets. For instance you’ll have booked before the wedding so use your maiden name which will be the name on your passport.

Do something with all of your wedding decor

Most likely your wedding decor will be sitting in your basement in boxes. When you have a free afternoon, pick out a few pieces to put on display in your house for keepsakes and then have a ‘toss’ pile. Your ‘toss’ pile can either be donated to friends for their wedding or home, sold in an online forum for brides or given to a second-hand store.

Sit with a financial advisor to have something else to work towards

Weddings are a huge investment for a couple to endure. Some couples have help from family, others have saved for some time while some have taken-out small loans to foot the bill. After the wedding is over, your disposable income will be freed up. Try meeting with a financial advisor to work towards your next goal. This goal could be anything from a house to a European vacation to a new car or child fund. Whatever the goal, the key is to at least have one!

Thank you notes to guests

Gratitude should be shown to your guests three months after the wedding, but for most couples this is a tough task because life gets very busy! Try to have them out before your first anniversary at the latest. The key is to at least send one!

Plan your one year anniversary

Have the wedding hangover blues subsided yet? If not, take a look at your budget and plan your one year anniversary celebration. This could be anything from a nice diner to a short weekend away, camping trip, day trip or full-on vacation. Planning this will keep you excited and help cure those blues!